Ransomware Shield - FAQs

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware refers to malicious software that can encrypt important files in your PC to make them inaccessible and threatens to publish or delete them until a sum of money (ransom) is paid. Even after paying the ransom, there is no guarantee that you can recover your files.

What is Ransomware Shield?

Ransomware Shield secures your personal photos, documents, and other files from being modified, deleted, or encrypted by ransomware attacks. This feature scans for and automatically secures folders which may contain personal data and allows you to specify which other folders you want to protect from untrusted applications. Additionally, you can specify which applications are allowed to modify the files in your folders and which applications are always blocked.

How do I get Ransomware Shield?

Ransomware Shield is included in the latest version of Avast Premier and Avast Internet Security by default. To access the feature, open the Avast user interface and go to Protection ▸ Ransomware Shield.

If Ransomware Shield does not appear in your Avast Protection menu, ensure you are using the latest version of Avast Premier or Avast Internet Security. To update Avast, go to Settings ▸ Update, and click Update in the Program section.

How do I manage Ransomware Shield activity?

You can select an option to specify how Ransomware Shield handles attempts to access files in your protected folders.

Click Show details on the bottom of the Ransomware Shield screen and select a mode:

Smart Mode (default and recommended setting): Ransomware Shield refers to a list of commonly used and trusted applications to determine which programs can modify files in your protected folders. If any applications which are not in this list attempt to modify files in your protected folders, you are notified and asked for permission.

Strict Mode: you are notified and asked for permission each time a new application attempts to modify files in your protected folders. Selecting this option may result in frequent and potentially annoying alerts.

Which files and folders does Ransomware Shield secure?

Ransomware Shield automatically secures folders where you might store personal data. To manually add another folder to the list of protected folders, follow these steps:

To remove a folder, click the trash bin icon, then click Stop Protecting. To specify which types of files are protected in each folder, click Change protected file types. All listed file types are selected by default. Tick the box next to a file type to deselect it.

How do I allow or block specific applications from modifying files in my protected folders?

You can specify which applications Ransomware Shield allows or blocks. Follow these steps: